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Pilot
"Pilot" is the first episode in season 1, and overall the first episode of Person of Interest. It aired on September 22, 2011. Synopsis Mexico: September 11, 2001 John Reese is in bed with his girlfriend, Jessica Arndt. On the phone with her mother, Jessica claims she is on vacation with her friend. After promising her he will quit the CIA for her, Jessica informs Reese of a recent attack on the World Trade Center. New York: 2011 On a subway train, a bearded and dishevelled John Reese is harassed by a gang, led by Anton O'Mara. Reese easily overpowers them, with the attack caught by a security camera. At the police station, Detective Carter retrieves Reese's finger print from a plastic cup, though Reese is released by an attorney sent for him. Entering a limousine, Reese is brought to the Queensboro Bridge, where he is introduced to Mr. Finch, who knows about Reese's past, including the work he had done for the government, and about his presumed death. It is there that Finch offers Reese a new purpose in life - more specifically, a job. Driving to mid-town New York, Finch shares statistics about the many deaths occurring in New York, claiming he has a way to foresee people involved in future crimes, though he does not know whether they will be the victim, or the prepetrator. He points out Diane Hansen, an Assistant District Attorney who is at the top of his list, and asks Reese to follow her and protect her. Reese refuses, attacks Finch's men who try to stop him, and retreats to his hotel. After falling asleep in a cheap hotel, Reese awakens in a fancy room, tied to the bed. After being forced to hear a woman being murdered in the adjacent room, Reese breaks free and discovers it is a recording played by Finch. Finch reveals he know about the death of Jessica, and promises Reese a chance to save people in time. In an abandoned library, Finch supplies Reese with fake identities, and introduces Reese to his List: a series of Social Security numbers, each belongs to a person who is linked to a violent crime. The two start following Hansen, with Reese breaking into her house to duplicate her e-mail messages and other online accounts, as well as install a microphone inside her cellphone. Reese gathers enough information to shorten the list of supposed attackers to her colleague and ex-boyfriend, James Wheeler, and Lawrence Pope, a prisoner whom she is prosecuting for the murder of his fellow drug dealer. Reese and Finch suspect Pope's gang is going after Hansen. After a physical confrontation in Pope's cell, Hansen is left unharmed, but Reese concludes that Pope was framed, and decides to seek out Pope's younger brother, Michael, who saw the real murderers. At their office, Reese spies on Wheeler, who sneaks into Hansen's office and prints Pope's file. After an attempt to talk to Michael fails, Reese tracks down Anton, who is revealed to be a weapons dealer along with his father. After a non-fatal shoot-out, Reese takes control of their weapons. After planting a tracking device in Michael's bag, Reese overhears Michael being kidnapped. After rescuing him from his kidnappers, Reese discovers that the criminal are in fact corrupt police officers. Reese meets Finch in Central Park, and shares his suspicions of Lawrence Pope being framed by the police officers. Asking about Finch's method of predicting crimes, Reese learns that when the World Trade Center was attacked, Finch was working at a "lucrative" job. Following the attacks, Reese was hired to design a Machine that will detect possible terrorist activities. Since the Machine was programmed to prevent the next 9/11, any other crimes detected were deemed "irrelevant," and were erased. This bothered Finch, who quit his job with the government, and by using a back-door he designed, was able to access the list of the "irrelevant" crimes. By communicating with the Machine (which, according to him, is "everywhere, watching us with 10,000 eyes, listening with a million ears"), Finch is given a list of only the Social Security numbers of people involved in the future crimes. Following Lawrence Pope's murder in his cell, Reese spies over a meeting between Hansen and the corrupt officers in an abandoned alley. Reese discovers that Hansen is in fact the ringleader, who orders them to "take care of Wheeler." Reese is soon caught by Lionel Fusco, a fellow cop, who drives a knocked-out Reese to Oyster Bay. After warning Fusco, Reese detonates an explosive in the backseat, and rescues Fusco from the overturned car. After making sure Fusco is wearing his vest, Reese shoots him with Fusco's gun, and leaves. At Wheeler's apartment, three of the police officers, along with an ex-con they plan to frame, are about to kill Wheeler when it is revealed he is with his son. Reese appears, and takes one of the officers hostage, while Wheeler and his son leave unharmed. After a short stand-off, Reese rescues the ex-con, with two officers wounded and the other one killed. In a courtroom, as Hansen presents her evidence in a case, a recording of her meeting with the officers is played to the entire court room, Wheeler included. Hansen notices Reese, who leaves quietly. Reese visits Fusco, and reveals to him the body of the dead police officer is in the trunk of Fusco's car. Since Reese killed the officer with Fusco's gun, Reese blackmails Fusco and recruits him as his mole inside the police force. Back at the Queensboro Bridge, Finch reveals to Reese that the world believes both of them are dead, and offers him either a large sum of money to disappear, or a a mission which will probably result in both of them being dead. As Detective Carter arrests the corrupt police officers, they mention a man in a suit who took care of them. Overhearing this, Reese knows Carter will attempt to track him down. Walking away, Reese stares into a security camera, which is revealed to be connected to a server farm, with rows upon rows of computers, collecting information. Trivia *The press release for the episode contained several different names for the characters. Wheeler was credited as Miller, Lawrence Pope was credited as Alonzo Pope, and Diane Hansen was credited as Diane Bray. *Finch mentions a list, and the names representing "Lost chances." Michael Emerson is best known for his portrayal of Benjamin Linus on Lost. Linus was known for making lists. *As Reese is hacking into Diane's e-mail account, a list of messages is displayed. The names of the senders include Peter Bishop, Charles Francis and Philip Broyles, all characters from J.J. Abrams's Fringe. The other name, Emily Gaunt, is Fringe's charge scenic artist. Themes *'Double-life' - References Category:Episodes Category:Season 1